In its ninth year, Design World’s LEAP Awards recognize the engineering innovations shaping the future of design and technology across a range of categories. Each year, the awards bring together leading OEM design engineers and academics to form an independent judging panel that evaluates the submissions and selects the most outstanding solutions. The program reflects the innovation and expertise driving progress across the engineering community.
This year’s winners in the Power Electronics category showcase innovations in high-efficiency semiconductors, advanced power delivery, and GaN-based power conversion, highlighting technologies that are improving energy efficiency, power density, and performance across next-generation electronic systems.
Congratulations to the LEAP Awards for Power Electronics winners, who are profiled here:
GOLD
iDEAL Semiconductor
SuperQ® 200 V MOSFET Family
iDEAL Semiconductor’s SuperQ® 200 V MOSFET family is redefining silicon power semiconductor performance by addressing a longstanding challenge in power electronics: reducing conduction and switching losses without sacrificing reliability, manufacturability, or cost. Built on the company’s patented SuperQ architecture, the devices represent a major advancement in silicon MOSFET technology, overcoming performance trade-offs that have constrained the industry for decades. By dedicating up to 95% of the semiconductor structure to low-loss current conduction, SuperQ simultaneously reduces conduction and switching losses, enabling lower thermal dissipation, higher switching frequencies, increased power density, and reduced cooling requirements. The family establishes new performance benchmarks in two widely used package types: the iS20M5R5S1T delivers an on-resistance (RDS(on)) of just 5.5 mΩ in a TOLL package, while the iS20M6R3S1P achieves 6.3 mΩ in a TO-220 package.
Designed to preserve the ruggedness, reliability, and cost advantages of conventional silicon, SuperQ MOSFETs offer an alternative to more expensive wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies for demanding power applications. Rated for operation at temperatures up to 175°C and featuring high Short-Circuit Withstand Capability (SCWC), the devices support applications ranging from motor drives and battery-powered systems to isolated DC/DC converters, AI power supplies, solar inverters, and energy storage systems. Their improved efficiency and thermal performance give engineers greater flexibility to develop compact, high-density power designs while reducing energy losses and cooling demands. By combining a fundamentally reengineered silicon architecture with industry-leading electrical performance in established package formats, iDEAL Semiconductor’s SuperQ 200 V MOSFET family advances the possibilities of silicon power electronics and provides a compelling foundation for more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective next-generation power systems.
GOLD
Empower Semiconductor
Embedded Silicon Capacitors (ECAPs)
Empower Semiconductor’s embedded silicon capacitors (ECAPs) are advancing power delivery for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) by addressing one of the industry’s most demanding challenges: maintaining power integrity under extreme current densities and rapidly changing power demands. As AI processors deliver greater performance and operate at increasingly high switching frequencies, conventional printed circuit board (PCB)-mounted capacitors can struggle to provide the instantaneous current delivery and tight voltage regulation these systems require. Empower’s ECAP technology addresses this challenge by relocating high-density capacitance from the PCB into the semiconductor package or substrate, bringing power delivery closer to the processor. Using advanced deep trench-based structures, the capacitors integrate multiple capacitive elements into a single device, achieving ultra-low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent series inductance (ESL). This enables ultra-low impedance across a broad frequency range of approximately 10 MHz to 10 GHz, supporting effective decoupling for processor cores and high-speed I/O power domains.
Designed for integration into advanced semiconductor packaging, ECAP devices feature ultra-thin silicon construction, tight dimensional tolerances, and compatibility with 2.5D and 3D integration. Their placement within the processor substrate or interposer significantly reduces the electrical distance between the capacitor and the load, minimizing loop inductance and improving transient response. These capabilities help engineers reduce voltage droop, improve power stability, and maintain tighter power margins under demanding transient conditions. As AI accelerators and HPC systems continue to push the limits of current delivery, Empower’s ECAP technology provides a new approach to power delivery network (PDN) design, enabling more compact, efficient, and reliable high-performance computing architectures. By integrating high-density capacitance directly into advanced semiconductor packages, Empower Semiconductor is helping overcome critical power integrity limitations and enabling the next generation of AI and computing systems.
BRONZE
Power Integrations
TOPSwitchGaN™ Switcher ICs
Power Integrations’ TOPSwitchGaN™ switcher ICs are advancing power conversion by extending the capabilities of flyback converter designs to output levels traditionally associated with more complex resonant and LLC topologies. The latest generation of the company’s flagship TOPSwitch™ family combines its 800 V PowiGaN™ gallium nitride (GaN) technology with a proprietary variable-off-time switching algorithm to deliver high efficiency across a wide load range and output power up to 440 W. Achieving up to 92% efficiency while consuming less than 30 mW at no load, TOPSwitchGaN helps engineers meet demanding energy-efficiency requirements while simplifying power supply design. By integrating the power switch and essential control and protection functions into a single switched-mode power supply IC, the technology reduces component count, design complexity, and development time while providing a practical alternative to more elaborate power conversion architectures.
The TOPSwitchGaN family offers two package options to accommodate different power levels and thermal requirements. The low-profile eSOP™-12 surface-mount package supports designs up to 135 W using PCB cooling, while the eSIP™-7 package enables higher-power applications requiring heatsinks. Integrated protection features include output short-circuit, overload, overcurrent, overvoltage, and overtemperature protection, complemented by programmable switching frequency, frequency jitter for reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI), and soft-start functionality. Pin-to-pin compatibility with TinySwitch™-5 ICs also simplifies migration across power levels from 10 W to 440 W. By expanding the practical operating range of flyback converters while maintaining high efficiency and robust protection, Power Integrations’ TOPSwitchGaN provides engineers with a more streamlined approach to developing compact, reliable, and cost-effective power supplies for a broad range of applications.